1.a) "Don't just sit there!"
1.b) "Just don't sit there!"
2.a) "It's just not an issue."
2.b) "It's not just an issue."
3.a) "I just can't give up."
3.b) "I can't just give up."
4.a) "She's not just another pretty face."
4.b) "She's just not another pretty face."
Please post answers for EACH pair of sentences. If the sentences have the same semantic meaning to you, just post "same". If you feel that the sentences have different meanings, explain the difference in your own words.
If they all seem different to you, but you can think of a better example of a similar pair of sentences that would have the same meaning in your opinion, please post those too.
Also, I would appreciate it if you would be willing to mention where you grew up, as I am curious to know if there are regional differences of opinion about this.
Answers:
1a-means 'do more.'
1b-means 'do something, anything...'
2a-means 'it really doesn't matter.'
2b-means 'its more than an issue'
3a-means ' I can't bring myself to do it, it means too much to me'
3b-means ' I have got to do it, I'm not a quitter.'
4a-means 'She's pretty and some.'
4b-means 'She's not pretty'
Sometimes it's not what we say, it's how we say it. I place emphasis on the word 'just' on each of your sentences for the purpose of interpretation.
'I didn't say you were stupid.'
Placing the emphasis on 'I' implies someone else said it, placing the emphasis on 'you' implies that I said someone else was stupid, placing the emphasis on 'stupid' implies I said you were something else.
Born & raised in the south